Hyrule Online
by Penelope Jadewing
Summary: The Legend of Zelda has been around since the age of gaming began. And Nintendo has finally released the first LoZ MMORPG. Players are no longer limited to the story's main characters; now they can explore everything Hyrule has to offer. But the laws of time and space have been violated. When players make the dive, it's not into a virtual world. DISCONTINUED


**Full Synopsis:**

The Legend of Zelda has been around since the age of gaming began. Now, Nintendo has finally joined the rising market by releasing the first LoZ MMORPG. Players are no longer limited to the story's main characters; now they can explore every aspect and adventure the land of Hyrule has to offer. But what they don't know is that the laws of time and space have been violated. The Void has been breached. When the players make the dive, they aren't linking into a virtual world. They're linking into a different world altogether.

* * *

**Prologue**

Something felt so very wrong, Link wasn't even surprised when the Princess herself came to see him in Ordon. Ordon was a backwater town. Nothing special. Just a bunch of goat farms, a livery, one inn that also doubled as a bar, and a handful of simple country folks in simple country houses.

But it was also the home of this generation's Chosen Hero.

100 years since the Twilight War, and the proverbial gauntlet of courage had fallen to him. Of course he'd be the royal family's go-to guy, especially when the very air had a suffocating thickness to it for weeks on end.

It was hard to bow to someone he'd known since he got himself arrested for sneaking into her palace just for kicks, but he did it anyway. The driver opened the rear door of the long-bodied autocar, and a dainty foot clad in an elegant yet practical white short-heeled pump stepped down onto the old cobblestone of the main road. Link waited until both feet appeared and stood steady in front of him before he raised his head.

Princess Zelda was the most beautiful girl in Hyrule. Everyone knew that. It always gave him a spike of pride when he could rub his 'best friend' status in other guys' faces. And today, she was no less stunning than usual in a sharp, stiff and simple white dress that fell mid-shin and had a high, unforgiving collar. A pair of crisp white gloves and a white tulle shawl patterned with roses and vines added a bit more femininity to it, but she still managed to look imposing. Imposing and drop-dead gorgeous.

"Your Highness," he said coolly, offering her a smile. "I'm honored."

"I only wish I might've come under better circumstances," she replied, her pretty face set grim like stone. "As it is, the situation is near dire."

"Only near?" The impulse to tease was nearly overbearing, but with her butler, driver, and handful of bodyguards close at hand, it was out of the question. So he settled for the concerned citizen angle. "I hope you're planning to explain."

She nodded, the few tendrils of silky blond hair loose from her finger curls hanging in her face and blowing in the wind (despite it being a perfectly, almost eerily still day). "I am. But not here."

Without a second thought, Link stepped aside and gestured back to his humble abode – a tiny cabin not-so-looming behind him, situated on the southern edge of the South Faron Woods, where all the dust blew up during the spring. "Of course! Please, come in."

As he led the way, she followed and her guards fell into step behind her. She paused and held up a hand to stay them. "Please remain here."

"But your highness-" one started to object.

Her eyes flashed. "Wait outside while I speak to the Hero. I will be perfectly safe in his care. You may resume your posts when I return. Do you understand?"

Basically, she wanted them to shove off so they could talk like normal people. It was a clear enough message, and one that the main guard seemed to get as he reluctantly stood down. He bowed at the waist with resignation. "Yes, your highness…"

That taken care of, she followed Link the rest of the way to the cabin. He reached for the door, and so did she. Their hands brushed at the knob, and that same bizarre buzz went through them both. The triangles on the backs of their hands – his left, her right – flashed with golden light and sparks. They jerked away from each other, but the tingle in the back of Link's skull remained, like the lingering effects of too much coffee.

He loved that feeling. Too bad it was too weird to enjoy in public. That and, of course, the whole separation of the classes thing. He resisted the urge to sigh, and instead rubbed the back of his neck – outwardly embarrassed, inwardly just trying to wipe away that energized feeling.

"Heh heh," he tittered nervously, "forgive my clumsiness, your highness. Ladies first."

She actually rolled her eyes, now that they were a safe distance from her entourage. "Oh please, don't think I'm actually falling for that."

"What!?" he objected while she let herself into his home. "I was trying to be chivalrous!"

"Even ignoring the fact that we both know full well you're just an arrogant sadist, most consider opening the door for the princess the chivalrous course of action." She gave him an incredulous over her shoulder. "'Ladies first'?"

"We agreed I'm only borderline!" He shut the door behind him with a pout and paused to massage the back of his left hand. "I was thinking off the top of my head, all right? Your goons were right there."

"Stop trying so hard," she replied evenly, making her way through the cabin like it she knew it. Because she did. She'd been here enough, between friendly visits and royal check-ups on his 'hero training'. "You're not fooling anyone. Rumors fly around Central City every day of our non-existent love affair. They don't matter. You and I both know we're good friends, but that's all. That's the end of it."

While she removed her gloves and took out a kettle for tea, Link tried to hide the invisibly dagger that'd found a new place of residence in his chest. He withered under a cloud of dark. 'Good friends but that's all'. Ouch. And she wasn't even trying! He fell to his knees with dramatic flair and performed the most epic of facepalms.

When Zelda turned around after filling the kettle from the waterpump, she observed a casual Link lounging almost bored in one of his cushioned chairs. Of course he wasn't about to clue her into his inner turmoil. Now _that _would be embarrassing.

"'Course," he droned, bracing his chin in his palm with his elbow propped on the armrest. "Doesn't mean I can't try to be a little more discreet."

She rolled those baby blues again. "Go right ahead. It's no concern of mine if you humiliate yourself."

"Hey, I've got class, lady!" He jabbed a thumb against his chest. "I'm not always a moron."

"I'm only going by statistics. But," she gave an unladylike shrug, "perhaps my view is biased and you only manage to be an utter imbecile when I'm around."

He withered again. "Geez, Zel… what's with the barbs? I get something's wrong, but do you have to take it out on little ol' me?"

She tossed a couple logs into the potbellied woodstove with undue vehemence, and then sighed heavily, pausing to hang her head. "…I know, I apologize."

"Thank you."

"Don't push it," she threatened.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, fine. What did you need to talk to me about?"

She took another minute to get the kettle situated on the stove before she finally came and took a seat. She sat with her back straight, with her usual royal poise. He tried not to smirk.

"Something is very wrong in Hyrule," she began.

"I sorta assumed that when you came to visit me in an _automobile_. Seriously, I liked the horse. What happened to the horse?"

Her eyes flashed again. "Link!"

"Sorry!" He flinched, coiling into his seat, away from her. "…Continue."

"Patches of dark matter have been appearing everywhere, from Snowpeak to the desert. Nothing has come through yet, but several of our citizens have gone missing. Darubas of the Gorons, King Rollins from the Domain, even the Gerudo have all reported the same mysterious disappearances." Her face took on a hard edge. "Nara, Matriarch of the Gerudo, was the one to begrudgingly report that it was this dark matter that was swallowing up our people."

Link's eyebrows went up. "Wow. Crossing some long-standing racial prejudices, there."

"I know, and that only puts the entire unsavory situation into perspective." She leveled him with a sharp look that told him he had better be taking this seriously. "All of us are being affected. All of us are at risk. All of us realize this. We're seeing about forming a council as we speak. An international council, so we can keep up with this strange phenomenon."

"So why come to me?" Link cocked his head, processing the new information. "You said nothing's come through. Besides that, your Sheikah lap dog says I'm not ready to try for the Master Sword. Which, it sounds like I would need should anything get worse. This isn't exactly a normal threat."

"Be nice to Ghira," she chastised. "He could be listening right now. He can probably hear you!"

_"__Every word,"_ same a silky voice from the shadows in the far corner.

Link pouted again. "Stalker!"

_"__Don't flatter yourself."_

"Don't intrude on private conversation!" With a snort of dismissal, Link turned back to the princess. "Just spit it out, Zelda. Get to the point."

"I want you in Central," she said, dead serious. "My soldiers aren't trained for these sorts of anomalous threats. You on the other hand have been trained by the last professionals in Hyrule for twelve years! And counting!"

He scoffed. "Yeah, it's that 'and counting' part you should be concerned about. My training is far from finished, I'm told. Sure, I can wield a sword like nobody's business, and I'm not a bad shot with a bow or handgun, but I can't tap into the Triforce. It's blocking me out and nobody can figure out why. Not even the old crone!"

_"__My mother is not a crone!" _Ghira cried with indignation without showing himself.

"Hey, beauty's in the eye of the beholder," Link started to taunt, but Zelda's hand on his arm stopped him. Again, their Triforces reacted, blazing gold and sending shivers up his spine. Zelda didn't budge; couldn't she feel that? If she could, she refused to react.

"Link, I'm genuinely concerned." She stared into his eyes, grim as death. "I don't like any of this, and I wish I could give you more time. But I'm beginning to fear time is not a luxury we have. Something big is about to happen… I feel it." Her gaze dropped to her right hand, still resting on Link's arm. He wished she'd move it. But also didn't. "I don't know if it's my Triforce or not… but I'm not willing to take any chances. I'm well-versed on the history of Hyrule. There were points in time where nobody acted on strange happenings until it was too late, and our predecessors had a lot more to deal with. More people got hurt. I won't let that happen."

Link opened his mouth to respond. Then the earth threw a hissy fit. There went conversation. With great roaring quakes, the ground rattled the poor little cabin like a maraca, throwing over tables and shelves and making Link slide out of his chair. His gaze flew to Zelda. The princess wasn't so lucky and with a particularly violent lurch, her chair was overturned. _No you don't! _Link sprung just in time to catch and steady her. Ghira emerged from the shadows at the same moment, ready to protect the princess as was his blood-ingrained duty.

"Has this happened before!?" Link asked the princess over the earth's groaning.

"Never!" she replied, clinging to him.

Then the windows bashed in, as if they were all hit from the outside. Glass flew everywhere. Link shielded Zelda with his body, while Ghira shouted at them to watch out. _Little late, Ghirie ol' pal!_

The earthquake stopped as abruptly as it had started, and the silence that followed made Link's hair raise. He gingerly lifted his head and cracked open his eyes to look around at the carnage left of his home. Shards of glass and ceramics lay scattered everywhere among books and other odds and ends that had been thrown from their original places. Link sighed; Ordon had earthquakes, being near a natural rift that had carved the nearby canyons, but they couldn't have ever been prepared for something like that! Dang, and he'd just organized that bookshelf, too...

A pale hand rested on his shoulder, while the other moved to help Zelda up and out of his embrace. "What in the name of Faron was that?" came Ghira's silky voice again, only this time not-so-silky.

Nobody got to answer, for two reasons. One, nobody had one. And two, somebody screamed outside and that was enough to cease all questions and send the threesome barreling outside.

A cloud of inky blackness had erupted like a crack in the universe near the royal autocar, and typhoon-grade winds swirled out from it, tossing up dust and debris all around them. The guards, butler, and driver were fleeing for their lives. Only they seemed to be one guard short.

"Weren't there five guards?" Link blurted, watching the cloud swallow up the car.

"Yes!" Zelda sounded horrified.

Then the cloud lashed out with a tentacle-like appendage and snatched up the ankle of one of the fleeing men – the driver. With the speed of a snapped rubberband, it yanked him back into its mouth, where he disappeared and his wild scream came to an abrupt end. Link flinched.

"Did they mention this dark matter eating people?" he ventured.

"How can you joke about this!?" Zelda turned on him, her blond bun whipped loose, leaving her hair to fly in her face. "That's two good men lost to yet another anomaly! Does life mean so little to you!?"

"I'm not joking!" he snarled back, squinting against his own wild flying hair as it swatted his eyes.

"Incoming!" Ghira interrupted, latching onto their arms and dragging them back against the cabin, which was leaning under the weight of the monstrous unnatural wind.

Link looked around to try and see what Ghira was alerting them of, and spotted the cloud stretching and growing and he swore he saw something golden flash in its murky belly. Then an arm reach out from its depths. A real arm. With a hand. A massive hand with clawed fingers.

Link sucked in a breath.

A hulking figure followed, draped in elaborate armor and a draping blood red cloak. Flaming red hair spilled over his broad shoulders, and he had bronze skin that looked pale against the surrounding darkness. His golden eyes squinted against the sunlight that streamed over him, and he raised a meaty hand to block it out.

"No… it's not possible…" Zelda breathed, just barely. Link couldn't even form words.

He didn't get the chance anyway, because Ghira jerked them around the back of the cabin and then took off at a full sprint into the village.

"Where are we going!?" Link called after him as they weaved between the homes.

"You're getting your old nag and getting the princess back to Central!" Ghira cast a sharp look over his shoulder, his red eyes piercing through his fringe of white hair. "I'm clearing the villagers. Go!"

Epona was no nag, but now wasn't the time to point that out. Link gave the Shiekah a curt nod before taking Zelda's hand and lunging in the direction of the livery stables. They made quite the scene of exploding in through the double doors, spooking the horses out of their wits along with all the stable workers who were still a bit shaken, and bellowing out for everyone to evacuate. And considering this was the Princess of Hyrule and the Chosen Hero giving the orders, nobody questioned. They all got out like their lives depended on it. Link doubted they yet knew it did, despite the bizarre earthquake.

He made a beeline for Epona's stall and threw open the latch. Kicking the door in, he darted in to his mare, who seemed the least jumpy of all the horses in the building. Her ears were perked upright and her eyes bright, but she'd only flinched when her stall door banged open. She then followed Link willingly out into the aisle. Link swung up onto her back, not taking time to think or even put on tack. They had to go. Now.

He held a hand down to Zelda. "Your Highness."

"But what about-" she started.

"Get on!"

She grasped his hand and he hoisted her up behind him. Without giving her time to settle in, he then spurred Epona to a full gallop and barreled out into the street, which was quickly filling with fleeing people. Zelda shrieked, and her arms found a tight grip around his waist.

Rather than navigate the crowds, Link directed his horse the short way back to the edge of town, between houses rather than using the roads. It cut time in half, and once outside the village, he got his bearings and began heading north at high speed.

"It's a three-day ride to the capitol from here," he called to Zelda over the thunder of Epona's hooves. He could feel her grip tighten; it seemed that wasn't welcome information. "Better settle in for a long trip."

"Why couldn't you have an autocar instead?" she whimpered against his shoulder.

"Excuse me, princess, but not everyone can afford one! And the smoothness of the ride isn't your biggest concern; you should be worried about that redheaded giant using his massive stride to get there first!"

She growled, tossing dignity to the wind. "Link…"

"Shutting up."

* * *

"I'm growing weary of your hair swatting my face; you should cut it."

"I like my long hair. And I like wearing headbands. They're edgy."

She guffawed. "Headbands are edgy? Care to explain to me when that happened? Last I knew, as a fashion stable, they were childish."

"Well, then, it keeps me looking young and adorable. You think I'm adorable, don'tcha princess? OW!"

A pinch to his ribs answered his question. Epona tossed her head, but didn't break stride as she climbed the last hill of Hyrule Field before they would reach the capitol. Behind him, her arms coiled loosely around his waist now, Zelda clicked her tongue.

"You're so skinny; you don't eat enough," she muttered. "No wonder I can still beat you."

"You've only beat me once!"

"We've only sparred once."

Before they could continue their bickering, they came upon two young girls bounding over the hill toward them. Link could just barely see the spires of Hyrule Castle rising behind them.

"Yoohoo!" one of the girls, the brunette, called, waving them down. Link reined Epona to a stop. "We're wondering which way to Ordon! We're…" She glanced at her blonde friend. "New to the area!"

"To the south," Link said without thinking. Zelda pinched him again and he bit back a curse. Resisting the urge to throw her a scowl, he finished addressing the strangers. "But you should avoid going down there at all costs. The village has been evacuated. It's not safe."

The girls looked distressed and disappointed. "Oh," said the first, "well… that's terrible…"

"I'm sorry," Link finished. "Now if you'll excuse us, we're on urgent business. We need to get going."

"Right," said the blonde, less perky than her friend. "Thank you."

Link urged Epona on their way to the crest of the hill, but didn't miss as they left the girls behind when the brunette suddenly tagged hard on the blonde's arm and pointed after them. Her squeal reached their ears even as their distance increase. Link raised an eyebrow as delighted chattering followed, but decided it was better to ignore it.

When they crossed over the hill, both he and Zelda lost their breath as they stared out over the city. It had always been stunning in its splendor and vastness, but this time the awe came for a completely different reason.

"Was there always so many people milling around Central?" Link gasped.

Zelda stared with a mix of wonder and fear. "No… Who are they? Where did they all come from? Look, there's hundreds… Gorons, Zoras, Hylians… even Gerudo! Link…"

Link shook his head. "I don't know. But we need to-"

A flash of light discarded a person less than twenty paces to their right, making both of them jump. This one was Hylian, dressed in black slacks and a black trench coat with black hair tied back in a short ponytail. His dark eyes scanned the Field, betraying intelligence. Another flash of light brought a honey-haired Hylian girl to his side, clad in a white blouse and red skirt.

"Link…" Zelda breathed beside him, while he was still stunned speechless and thoughtless. "What is happening?"

* * *

**A/N: Just an idea I had... Updating may be slow, though. I have other projects I'm working on. Let me know what you think in a review, though. :) If there's a lot of interest, I might write more.**


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